The week really ended with a bang when Kellie Leitch’s controversial campaign manager Nick Kouvalis left her camp, potentially undermining her chances in the race.

Leitch’s campaign co-chairs Con Di Nino, Danny Renauld and Sander Grieve will step up in the interim to fill in for the man the media has branded as a sort of devious mastermind of electioneering. Toronto Mayor John Tory is distancing himself from Kouvalis, although he’s not ruling out letting him manage any of his future campaigns.

On to Hill news: Jody Wilson-Raybould’s former chief of staff, Kirsten Mercer, is among a batch of new appointments to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. Mercer is a former justice policy adviser to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and joins the Tribunal as a full-time member.

Speaking of chiefs of staff, January’s cabinet shuffle also moved some top-level Liberals into new positions. Leaving his post as Justin Trudeau’s deputy chief of staff in the PMO, Jeremy Broadhurst is settling in as Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s new chief of staff. Julian Ovens, who was chief of staff to Stéphane Dion, is now chief of staff to International Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne.

Roles at Commons committees also changed around following the cabinet shuffle. Making it a true game of musical chairs, MaryAnn Mihychuk — who was recently ejected from cabinet — is now replacing Andy Fillmore as chair of the Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee (let’s hope she adopts his yellow card/red card approach for managing speaking time).

A few other Hill staffing notes: Diamond Isinger moved over to PMO as a special assistant on Canada-U.S. relations, departing from Freeland’s old office at International Trade, and former CBC reporter turned spin doctor James Fitzmorris has moved over to run comms for Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett, leaving Bardish Chagger’s small business and tourism office. Health Minister Jane Philpott’s office also nabbed senior policy adviser Brian Kaufmann from Bennett’s office.

In an iPolitics scoop this week, Ottawa public service ace reporter Kathyrn May reports that a former DM over at citizenship and immigration, Neil Yeates, is becoming a senior advisor for “pay transformation” at Public Works to help fix the (yes, still) failing Phoenix pay system train wreck.

CTV’s Glen McGregor confirmed this week that Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson will be stepping down July 8 this year and won’t seek another term. Dawson is currently investigating the prime minister over his ride in the Aga Khan’s private helicopter.

Odd timing as Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson’s office announces tonight she will not seek another term when her mandate ends in July. pic.twitter.com/y3SFygyfQ6

StrategyCorp has added senior government relations consultant Sean Webster as the firm’s new vice president. Webster was formerly director of government affairs for Enbridge and has been involved in the senior ranks of the Canadian pharmaceutical industry: He was VP of public affairs for Shoppers Drug Mart, and also VP of corporate affairs for Solvay Pharma Inc.

Senior economist Armine Yalnizyan is leaving the left-leaning think-tank the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives after a decade there. Not clear where she’s headed yet but she’s promising more news to come.

Some news: After 10 *incredible* years, this was my last day with @ccpa.